Lesson 2
Factoring the
Difference of Two
Squares
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students should be able to
● accurately determine that a polynomial is a
difference of two squares;
● accurately and completely factors polynomials using
difference of two squares; and
Guide Questions
• When can you say that a number is a perfect square?
• How do you get the square root of a perfect square
number?
• How do you get the square root of non-perfect squares?
Learn about It!
Perfect Square Constant
1 obtained by multiplying a whole number by itself
Example:
Number Square Perfect Square
(x) (x2) Constant
1 12 = 1 1
2 22 = 4 4
3 32 = 9 9
5 52 = 25 25
10 102 = 100 100
Learn about It!
2 Perfect Square Variable
variables whose exponents are divisible by 2
Example:
Number Square Perfect Square
(x) (x2) Variable
a a2 a2
b2 (b2)2 = b4 b4
c3 (c3)2 = c6 c6
d5 (d5)2 = d10 d10
e10 (e10)2 = e20 e20
Learn about It!
3 Difference of Two Squares
it is a binomial whose terms are perfect squares and the operation
between the two terms is subtraction.
Example:
The factors of are and .
Therefore, .
Try It!
Example 1: Factor the polynomial completely.
Try It!
Example 1: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
1. Check if there is a common monomial factor.
The given polynomial has no common monomial factor.
Try It!
Example 1: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
2. Check if the given polynomial involves a difference of two
squares.
Both and are perfect squares and the operation between
them is subtraction.
Thus, the given polynomial is a difference of two squares.
Try It!
Example 1: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
3. Identify the square roots of the two terms.
Try It!
Example 1: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
4. Write the factors as a product of the sum and difference
of the answers in Step 3.
Therefore, .
Try It!
Example 2: Factor the polynomial completely.
Try It!
Example 2: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
1. Check if there is a common monomial factor.
The given polynomial has a common monomial factor, which
is .
Try It!
Example 2: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
New polynomial:
2. Check if the new polynomial involves a difference of two
squares.
Both and are perfect squares and the operation between
them is subtraction. Thus, the new polynomial is a
difference of two squares.
Try It!
Example 2: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
New polynomial:
3. Identify the square roots of the two terms.
Try It!
Example 2: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
New polynomial:
4. Write the factors as a product of the sum and difference
of the answers in Step 3.
Try It!
Example 2: Factor the polynomial completely.
Solution:
New polynomial:
Therefore,
Do not forget to include the extracted
common monomial factor in Step 1.
Key Points
Perfect Square Constant
1 obtained by multiplying a whole number to itself
Perfect Square Variable
2 variables whose exponents are divisible by 2
Difference of Two Squares
3 It is a binomial whose terms are perfect squares and the operation between the
two terms is subtraction.
Let’s Practice!
Individual Practice:
1. Factor the polynomial completely.
2. Factor the polynomial completely.
